Reality's Misfortune
by stormy003
Summary: Aria Winslet of the lower quarters, also known as the Mysterious Cloaked Figure of the lower quarters, has became a thief in order to do justice for her "family". The adopted girl, unaware of that situation, is being forced to come back to the capital for unknown reasons, but she refuses to leave her family, rejecting the knights each time they come to their doorstep.
1. Chapter 1

"Aria, are you going to work again?" a young boy's voice asked.

"You're leaving again?" another voice chimed in, though this time it was a girl who was the same age as the last child.

Aria turned to the two and gave them a soft smile, crouching down to their level to have a better look at them.

"I'm sorry, Leon, Leia, but I'll have to go out again today..." the young woman apologized.

The twins were now pouting disappointingly as they crossed their arms and looked at the teen. They seemed to disapprove her constant work she had to tend to nearly everyday. Her work, though, was none other than annoying the crap out of nobles and stealing their useless valuables.

"But you're only nineteen!" Leia argued.

"I don't think you need to work so hard either!" Leon added.

Aria just chuckled and hugged the two children before standing back up, adjusting the cloak hooked onto her arm.

"Being nineteen means nothing when it comes to work. How about I propose to you both something?" she asked, their big golden eyes sparkling.

It's the one familiar phrase the older girl always used when she gives a promise to the two. Those promises she gave to them were always fulfilled and never broken no matter what she got herself into.

"I'll come home early today with a little something for you," Aria said, a bright smile flashing on her face.

The offer seemed to have sparked an interest in the two siblings as they were now bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Okay!" they two chimed. "Mom, Aria is heading out again, do you need her to run an errand for you?"

The twins scattered away quickly to look for their mother who was currently sewing a decorative looking shirt in the family room.

"Ah, yes! Aria? Is it alright if you can get me another spindle of white thread?" the woman asked.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Florence," the girl replied before she left. "I'll be back by noon."

The twins followed her to the door and closed it for her as she waved a good bye to the family who took her in.

"Be safe, my dear!" the woman called.

"Mom, why does she call you Mrs. Florence instead of mom?" Leia suddenly asked.

The woman just smiled and pat her daughter's head.

"I asked her to, dear," the woman replied. 'She's a noble who has no clue how her life is supposed to be played out...'

The girl noticed how grim her mother looked as she thought about Aria, not wanting to ask anymore questions towards her mother.

After the doors closed and the children were nowhere in sight, Aria peered around the streets and headed over a nearby alley way. The girl let out a short silent sigh and covered herself with the dirty brown cloak that hung on her arm like an empty sack. The cloak managed to cover her from head to toe; it covered her gold and olive green sleeveless coat, her long sleeve white and gold turtleneck short dress, and her gold, light brown, and white thigh high boots.

"Time to do more strenuous work..." she muttered as she took a deep breath and changed her attitude.

The girl pulled up her giant hood, covering up the rest of her bottom length light raspberry hair and most of her face. She then brushed her long bangs to the left, allowing it droop back to its original place and tucked a few locks of it behind her ear. Targets were the nobles as always, and so the girl stalked off silently in the direction of the imperial castle hidden. Aria felt nervous doing the job she assigned to herself only because she knew she might get caught one day and get into deep trouble with the imperial knights. Silently avoiding them and hiding in the shadows, Aria swiftly broke past the first security. It was yet to be the poorest security this place had on watch.

'Idiots...' she thought.

Breaking into a building without getting noticed was the next step on her list, then grab a few things, and lastly was escaping unharmed. The teen casually walked to the closest noble building she could possibly reach without a problem and headed to the back covered up windows, carefully picking at it and sliding it open. Luckily, no one was at home at the moment so she had time to rob a few items and leave. The girl grabbed nearly all the jewelry, fancy decor, and most of the money that the person left out carelessly, planning to sell off the items she took. Remembering the promise, the girl looked at the items swiped from the house and thought about what she could exchange it for.

'I should get going before someone comes back,' Aria thought, tucking in the goods into the tan pouch that hung around her black and gold belt. 'If only I could fit a little more in this pouch...'

Without using much effort, the girl leaped out of the window she opened earlier, quickly closed it back silently, and ran off deeper into an alley. Much to her dismay, a few knights seemed to be scouting the area she usually headed into to get back to the lower quarters, quickly taking her as a suspicious figure, to be exact, **_the_** suspicious figure they've been looking for.

"Halt! Who goes there?" one of them asked when they spotted the disguised girl. "I-it's you!"

Aria grunted quietly and quickly turned around to escape, not wanting to be captured by the likes of them.

'Not good..' she whispered to herself as she ran.

"SEIZE THEM!"

As the knights chased her out of the alley way, Aria quickly scanned her passing surroundings, looking for items to use and things she could topple to block their path. There was nothing to use during her great escape and only a few crates at the end of the said alley. Using the crates as blockade with a quick topple, the girl was able to slow the three knights who found and chased her down. This only caused a commotion and catch the attentions of other noblemen, something she needed to avoid from the very beginning. It was already too late.

"It's that mysterious cloaked figure! The one that's been robbing nobles from their goods!" a few people said among themselves. "How did they get in here unnoticed by the knights?"

Aria took the liberty to ignore them all and took off in the direction of where the lower quarters were located, avoiding all possible trouble that got in her way. The knights behind her were going to escaped from the barricade anytime soon, so she mustn't waste anytime.

"What's all this commotion?!" another male knight, sounding younger than the ones who chased down the thief, asked in a clear voice.

Finally getting rid of the boxes in their way for space, the men glared at the figure that was slowly disappearing from their sight.

"S-sir! we've located the mysterious cloaked figure just now and they're headed that way!" the knight exclaimed, pointing over to the lower quarters. "We must quickly round up a search party and catch that criminal!"

The blond haired man nodded and turned to the young woman with short ginger hair next to him.

"Sodia, quickly," he said in a softer tone. "Head into the lower quarters once you finish the gathering."

"Sir, as you wish," the woman named Sodia replied.

She immediately turned away and took off to gather the rest of the knights under the name of his crew, getting ready to chase down Aria, the so called thief.

"And as for the few of you here, quickly search for the culprit before they get away. I'm coming with you all as well," Flynn said, his light blue orbs flashing with curiosity.

* * *

 **Flip. I have too many stories. And I'm getting impatient with myself.. All OCs belong to me.**

 **~stormy003**


	2. Chapter 2

Aria wasn't able to go back home immediately, knowing that if she did, someone might catch her on the way in. The family she's currently living with would also be dragged into her mess if she was caught right then and there, not that they weren't already.

"What do I do now...?" she said out loud, slapping a hand across her mouth quickly.

The girl then peered around and let out a relieved sigh upon seeing no one near her.

'I'm such an idiot...' she muttered, closing her teal eyes.

Just as she grabbed and was about to throw off the cloak from her body, she heard some fast paced footsteps, hell, even running steps passing by and coming near.

"Search the corners and alleys! Don't miss a single spot and don't get off task!" one of the knights exclaimed from afar.

Aria frowned and released a low growl to herself, regretting her failed actions she decided to take throughout her life. Just as the girl was about to take off again, a knight from earlier's goose chase caught her in his sight once more. The teen froze for a second and then ran off after registering she was caught again, nearing danger with the second she lagged within.

"Give up and you'll be let off easily or face the consequences!"

As usual, she remained silent and kept moving her body to escape trouble and cheat punishment. Turning to a tall wall with some crates stacked messily near it, Aria decided to jumped it, stepping on the crates as well as wall climbing skillfully and escaping the knight yet again. Aria landed cleanly and softly on her feet into an open area, dashing off to look for another hiding spot to take off her cloak. However, once her feet left the ground, she ran and crashed into someone, not a knight for she felt no armor when she made contact with the person. The girl grunted and stumbled backwards, falling backwards heavily. Luckily for the girl, her hood didn't slip off, but a part of her lower body did show after landing, her clothes being revealed.

"Whoa, easy there," a male voice muttered in a dull tone.

Aria flinched when she heard the voice and sat still, not looking up from the ground. A dog was heard near her, releasing low barks or growls and sniffing at her leg.

'He isn't an imperial knight... Judging by his clothes he shouldn't be one..' the girl thought as she stood up and slightly tilted her head up to see.

"Trouble seeing or something? Cause you got a little something big covering your head," the man stated sarcastically.

It seemed like she was right, for he knew nothing about her reputation and what was going on at the moment. The dog she heard earlier suddenly tugged at her cloak, causing her to fall back down again and this time her face and distinguishable features were shown a little more during the drop.

"Repede, you didn't need to confirm her identity or even help her take that thing off," he joked.

"Why would you need to confirm my identity? By the looks of things, you know nothing of me.." Aria suddenly spoke, pulling her hood back up further and standing up.

"Oh, so you can talk. Hm, I was beginning to think that you're just some mute or something."

"Well, excuse me now, I must be going..." she stated quickly, running off again.

'Strange girl,' he muttered.

'Yuri! Hanks is looking for you again!' someone called.

"Alright, tell him I'll be there in a bit!" he called back.

Just as Aria was about to head over to another hiding spot, someone managed to grab her and halt her movements completely. Her arms were grabbed and she couldn't escaped from their grasp. Judging by the person's metal covered hands and strength, she knew it was male and a knight from the imperial castle grounds.

"Sorry, but I'll need to write a warrant for you and your actions," the unfamiliar voice said.

Flynn noticed that the mysterious cloaked figure was actually female, due to her very low build and slender shape arms. He was thinking that by now Aria was mumbling curses at him and sending secret death glares through her cloak. It just happened so that she was doing the opposite. She had a frightened expression on her face and mumbling wishes to escape without any harm being done.

'I promised the two I'd come back soon, but maybe today is the day I'll break the promise..' she thought

"I'll need to have your hood taken off and have you explain yourself. It is, of course, breaking the law of keeping peace to this place; your actions that is."

"... Peace? I see nothing, but bad treatment here," Aria stated shakily.

"Look, just do what I say and no one will get hurt," Flynn said sternly, letting go one of her arms carefully.

Aria hesitantly listened and pulled off her hood to reveal her silky hair and mesmerizing eyes. As for Flynn, his thoughts were wrong. No, this wasn't some vicious mad woman trying to send all the hate she could just to mess with the higher class, yet it was just a teenage girl at the age of possibly nineteen doing what she wanted to do to get back at the noblemen. She was clearly scared and not threatening at all.

"Just what are your reasons for doing this?" Flynn asked again, softening his eyes after seeing that she was nearly frightened to death.

"... I just wanted to get them back.. For their bad and unfair treatments, okay?" she asked. "Now, please let me go, I need to see my family before they grow worried."

Flynn remained still as his grip completely loosened though it was still around her arm. He suddenly held out his hand in front of her, waiting for her to return the goods.

"I'll need to ask you to return the items you've stolen," he stated immediately.

The girl didn't budge, getting ready to run again, until he managed to shoot out a threat, one that sounded more like a worried warning.

"I'll have to throw you into jail if you don't. I wouldn't want to do that, you know," Flynn said. "You don't look like you enjoy what you do like other crimina-"

"That's because I don't..." she said softly, holding in a frightened gasp as she cut him off. "Why would I enjoy acting rebellious towards others? I only do so because I want them to know how I feel, how the mysterious cloak figure feels, how everyone feels being looked down and stepped on."

The young man only smiled at her sympathetically, but still waited for the items he needed to retrieve. Aria gave up completely and sighed as she untied the pouch at her belt and dropped it into his armor covered hand.

"Now that that's over, I must be leaving now," Aria said, pulling her arm away and walking off.

The girl pulled off the long worn out cloak around her to reveal the clothes she wore underneath. She folded up the cloth to hide it and fixed up her neckerchief and high collar before she left the alley, Flynn watching her leave.

'Whoa, she looks different..' he suddenly thought, blinking a few times.

The imperial knight captain snapped out of his trance and then ran after her quickly. For some reason, he felt the need to look after her just as much as he needed to look after Princess Estellise of the imperial castle.

"Let me escort you back to... where ever you live," he offered awkwardly.

Aria turned to look at the taller teen and just blinked curiously, tilting her head to the side a little too innocently. She then looked back forward and shrugged lightly. Little did they know, they were being watched by a certain person from Flynn's squad.

"... What's with you all of a sudden?" she decided to ask. "I'm pretty sure I don't need an escort since no one actually knows my identity aside from this cloak, but if you insist.."

She then began to stalk off again, but this time with Flynn following right beside her. From Aria's point of view, it just looked like he was trying to keep an eye out on her, not trusting whether she would go straight home or steal more items.

"Oh, and by the way, my name is Flynn. Flynn Scifo to be exact.." he said, smiling at her calmly.

Aria blinked, feeling a little uncomfortable and cautious around him, though she decided that it was best to introduce herself to the knight. That is if she didn't want to end up in a cramped cell located deep in the imperial castle.

"Nice to meet you, I guess, Flynn..." she said, not wanting to get close to the knight. "I'm Aria... Winslet.."

"Winslet..?" he suddenly repeated. "That sounds... quite familiar within the noble court..."

"Does it? I don't know anyone else that goes with that surname," she replied.

"What about your parents?"

"My mom and dad has a different last name, why?"

Flynn went silent once he noticed something different and looked away apologetically, immediately regretting his question and curiosity.

"My bad.. I apologize for that," Flynn said after a few seconds of silence.

"Apologies for what? It's not like you said anything bad like you'll kill my family or me. Besides, if you did say that then I'd react differently and try to kill you instead, you noble freak."

Her honesty seemed to shock Flynn. It was so blunt and straightforward, yet it remains true to her for not a single hesitating reaction was visible as she said it aloud. It sounded... wrong..

Not knowing whether her family left her before she could remember then clearly and not knowing whether they are still alive and healthy. Not many who knows about the situation can bear with that way of thinking. Her mindset was just too messed up and scrambled. Flynn seemed to have caught something strange about her that maybe a false fact. All he needed left was to confirm it.

"Even so... If you were told that the family you live with now is a foster family, do you want to meet them, your real parents, someday?" he asked carefully. 'It sounds like she has no clue...'

"Not if they don't want to see me. I would wish to see them someday though if what your trying to imply was true," she said, tucking her bangs behind her left ear again. "Please stop with the nonsense."

'An angel who's tainted her hands through thievery; one that has lost all of her innocence. Well, not exactly all. She isn't aware, but she's suffering from being a flightless bird just through the lack of knowledge about herself right now...' Flynn thought.

Aria ignored the knight and continued to walk through the quarters silently. A few knights passed by and Flynn just continued to follow her, looking around to 'find the culprit'.

"You know you can go on your merry way now if you don't want to get in trouble," Aria stated. "To be frank, I don't think you're doing a very good job covering yourself up like that."

Flynn ended up chuckling and shook his head, refusing to leave.

"If they found out who you were, what would you do?"

"... I think you're just going to make me stand out to them," she answered. "My house is just at this corner, now thank you for being my escort. Leave."

The twins suddenly threw open the door and ran over to the girl excitedly, that was until they saw Flynn.

"Aria, who's that?" Leia asked curiously.

"..."

"Are we in trouble again?" Leon added, looking a little anxious as he pushed his sister behind him. "Are they out to get you and mom today too?"

"... N-no, we aren't in trouble..." she answered. 'At least I don't think... He is not here to get anyone.'

Flynn felt curiosity rising up in his chest as he smiled at the kids and bent down to their level of height. In response, the twins just anxiously moved away. Aria sighed and waved them back into the building before they start questioning about the imperial knight.

"Look, you're a knight from the imperial castle and I normally don't talk to, let alone, trust you guys, but I may have to ask you to leave me and this family alone. I believe you're able to do that, yes?" she said, crossing her arms together.

Flynn remained and stared at her, suddenly smiling at her understandably.

"I cannot do that."

"And why is that?"

"I have my reasons," the older teen said, smiling warmly. "Get used to seeing this face. You'll be meeting it more often."

His smile was capable of keeping Aria calm even if she tried not to lower her guard down. Bright, very bright and warm, was all the person who received it can think of.

'That doesn't sound like a good thing...' she muttered. "I guess I will have to.. There's no other choice. Just don't bother us like those stupid knights of yours."

"May I ask you something then?" Flynn suddenly questioned.

Aria began to ponder on about her answer, not very comfortable or at ease when he requested her to ask his question he left hanging in the air. She then lowered the lids of her eyes and silently huffed.

"... Shoot," she finally decided.

"What did those kids mean 'out to get you' and 'in trouble again'?" Flynn said, releasing the bomb.

Aria stared at Flynn, her face expression looking lifeless and bored, a sign that she didn't ever want the topic to be brought up between strangers. She slightly parted her lips to speak, but immediately sealed them tight for a little while longer.

"I rather not tell a knight, let alone a stranger, my problems. Our problems," Aria said, her eyes suddenly sharpening up.

Flynn's eyes felt like they were widening up, but he, with all of his energy, managed to keep everything looking calm and steady. The way she seemed protective about the trouble she's taking care of made it seem as if the problem is quite a big one. Her eyes were now engulfed in flames. Teal colored eyes mixed in with flaring red it seems.

"I'll have to get to know you more and have you tell me then so I can help you," he said, forcing a smile despite the worry he felt.


	3. Chapter 3

After talking to Flynn a little while longer, Aria was finally able to get rid of the knight and enter the house safely. It turns out he was also a resident of the lower quarters though he wished to change the empire, a reason for why he became a knight. Interestingly enough, that bit of information was able to calm her down and soften up her alerted mind around him.

"Aria, who was that and why was he here?" Leon asked, running up to the teen.

Aria looked down at the boy and decided to give a half honest answer.

"That was one of the imperial knights from the empire. His name is Flynn. Apparently, shops were closed for the day for inspections and he decided to bring me back home out of trouble," the girl lied.

"Does that mean you couldn't bring home anything today?" Leia asked disappointingly.

Aria knelt down onto the floor and patted her head softly with a caring warm smile on her face.

"Not today, guys.. Maybe tomorrow, later when it's all back to normal and safe, or when I can find the time to. I'll head out again later to make sure the shops are open, alright?"

"Okay!" the two chimed.

"Aria? Have you returned already?" Mrs. Florence asked.

"Ah, yes, I wasn't able to retrieve anything today. The stores were closed due to unknown reasons," she replied. "I'll head back out later to check if the stores are open again and get the white thread you need."

The girl then went straight to her room and shut the door behind herself before collapsing onto the soft bed. Her face was buried into the clean covered mattress and she remained still for about a minute before reaching to the back of her head and untying her hair swiftly. Her sigh was barely audible as she dropped her hand back down exhaustively.

'I got caught...' Aria suddenly mumbled. 'I knew it was going to happen someday, but why was it today?'

The teen then lifted her head up a little before she pushed herself back up to take off her belt, sleeveless coat, and pure white neckerchief. Touching around her waist where her pouch used to reside, she immediately remembered that Flynn was in possession of it at the moment.

'Just what's up with that knight, guy, dude; I don't even know what to call him anymore!' she yelled quietly. 'He messed up my train of thoughts way too much.. Need to find a way to get rid of him or avoid him, damn it!'

The girl frowned to herself, an expression she rarely ever makes when nowhere near anyone she despised so much. The teen then eyed the weapons she kept hidden away from the twins at a corner.

'No.. I shouldn't... Stealing is already bad enough as it is and my hands are already soiled from the act of thieving. Killing would just make it worse.. But even if I tried, I feel like I can't do it. Not him at the least..' Aria told herself, softening her gaze into defeat. 'Just... What is this feeling? Probably disgust again..'

* * *

At least 5 days had already passed ever since she got caught in the noble court. The kids weren't bothered that she still hasn't gotten them their gifts yet. Knights still came to visit and tried to drag her off like usual. She's also been trying to avoid getting out of the house to stay away from Flynn as long as possible. Aria woke up from her nap she took recently during the day, completely unaware of when she fell unconscious. The girl blinked wearily for a few times until her eyes popped wide open in realization.

"I should finally go and get the thread Mrs. Florence asked for and finish fulfilling my promise.." she said, quickly sitting up to grab the clothes she took off earlier and some galds, keeping it in her now tied up neckerchief. "I dragged this on for way too long."

Aria then silently left her room, but then decided to walk back in and grab her sword before she headed out the house once again, going to the center of town.

"I need my bag back, soon..." she said, throwing the tied up neckerchief filled with galds. "And it's best to keep a weapon on me this time.

Upon turning at a corner, Aria spotted the same man she ran into earlier and his dog during her escape. Feeling rather frightened, the girl froze and took a couple steps back to hide herself.

'Why am I hiding again?' asked the teen. 'Oh wait, because he has a dog with him..' she replied sarcastically.

Aria wasn't able to take a good look at him a few days ago due to her giant hood and the fact that she was in a rush. Now that she was able to completely burn his appearance into her mind, she thought that he was pretty good looking even with his long black hair. But then again, she must proceed with precaution. He is a stranger after all.

'Curse my luck these days... I have only two choices to take where I either walk pass them or just wait until they leave.'

She ended up taking the first choice; that's to walk past the two without making a hassle or distraction. Repede seemed to notice her presence immediately and looked at her curiously as Yuri continued to ignore her and look for something. The dog suddenly began to bark his head off, sniffing a couple of times and earning Yuri's full attention.

'Dear lord, no...!' she complained to herself.

Yuri remained silent as he looked at the dog and studied the girl before him. Being as shy as ever, Aria began to fidget and looked around for something of interest. The young man, about Flynn's age, never said anything and continued to eye her appearance sharply, taking in everything he could.

"So you're the one who bumped into me, huh. You sure look different without that musty cloak of yours," he stated.

Aria jolted a little and backed away. Becoming cautious around the teen, she gripped at her weapon hanging around her waist tightly, her face looking in discomfort.

"Whoa, easy there. You're acting just like those imperial knights," he said once again, a semi-surprised look on his face.

"So you're not working with them?" she asked cautiously, backing away a little further.

Repede barked again and ran up to her, curiosity filling up his mind. Aria was alerted to how close he was to her and backed up even further, bumping into a wall in the process.

"Calm down, lady," Yuri said as he raised an interested brow. "It's not like I'm going to kill you. ... Or is it..?"

The statement just made her all the more uncomfortable and suspicious around him.

"Just who are you?" she asked in a harsh tone.

"Yuri Lowell at your service," he joked. "No point in trying to sound harsh cause that's not working."

Aria remained in the position a little while longer, she still didn't find the older teen to be trustworthy enough.

"Oh come on, I was messing around so loosen up. Now tell me your name and we'll be even," Yuri stated.

Aria finally began to calm down, her racing heart slowing back to its original pace. Repede was staring at her, slowly creeping up to her in a false vicious manner. The girl wanted to move away, but she couldn't. She was already backed up against a wall.

"Oh yeah, this guy here, his name is Repede. He's like this to everyone so it's normal."

Aria looked frightened by the two and so the dog stopped moving then sat back down on the floor. Yuri was still waiting on her for her introduction, pressuring one of his legs by leaning onto it more than the other.

"... Aria Winslet.. Now answer me this... Are you working with the empire..?" she said cautiously.

"Them? No way would I fit in with them," he said in an uninterested tone. "What's gotten you so worked up?"

"It's nothing.." she said lowly, standing up straighter. "I didn't happen to cause the two of you any trouble 'that' morning, did I?"

"Trouble? Not that I remember of..." he said in a thoughtful behavior. "What was it that you were in such a hurry for? Oh wait, you're the mysterious cloaked figure everyone talked about, right?"

"Don't say it out loud or I'll get in trouble!" Aria exclaimed.

"Whatever you say.."

He then turned around and headed the area she was going to head over for herself, his trusting partner following him at his heels. Aria sighed and began to walk after him, rubbing her head tiredly as they kept a good distant away.

'First Flynn Scifo, now this Yuri Lowell guy. Just what is with these two?' she muttered before crashing into Yuri again.

"I heard my name. Did you need something?" he asked with a smirk.

"No, I did not.." Aria sighed.

"Alright then, I'll be the one to ask the questions and stuff... You know Flynn?"

"..."

Aria looked up curiously and blinked.

"He's the imperial knight that caught me during my escape," she said. "Do you know him?"

"I said I was going to ask the questions," he chuckled. "Yes, I know him. He's a friend of mine."

"A friend?"

"We grew up together in the lower quarters, always sharing our items with each other and stirring up trouble."

"Flynn? Trouble? I can't see him do that..." she thought aloud.

"Same goes for you. I've seen you around a few times before, but never did I ever think you to be that person," Yuri pointed out.

"You've seen me before? I've never met you or seen you pass by before.."

Yuri rose a brow as he rested his hands on his hips, tilting his head a tiny bit to the side and causing his hair to sway along with him.

"On second thought... Are you that once most wanted fugitive the knights tried interrogating before?" she asked, looking at him blankly.

'How nice to put it like that,' he replied boringly.

Repede gave a quick swish with his tail and groaned a little, waiting for the two teens to start walking again. The dog stood back up from the ground and began to circle around Aria's feet impatiently.

"My mistake, did that bother you?" she asked curiously as Repede nudged her forward.

"Not at all, but it does bring up some memories.." Yuri replied with a mischievous smirk.

"You must have been very... rebellious then..." Aria said as she walked, trying to describe the young man before her.

"You can say that. Say, what's your first impression on Flynn?"

"Eh? What's this all of a sudden?" she asked.

"Just curious, so answer."

'So rude...' the girl thought. "He seems reliable and very hardworking. Quite clingy after a while though..."

"Clingy, huh? Don't let his appearance get to you, he's quite as rebellious as me," Yuri snickered.

"He didn't click in my head to be as troublesome as you..." Aria said in a thoughtful way.

Repede then suddenly howled and took off after something or rather someone he was familiar with.

"H-hey, Repede!" Yuri called.

The figure Repede ran after turned around and looked at the mutt, bending down to quickly scratch him.

"Speak of the devil... Flynn!" Yuri called while Aria blanked out and groaned.

"Hm? Yuri?" Flynn called back, looking over at the two. "Aria..! Oh, right."

Yuri and Aria approached the knight side by side and gave him a quick small greeting before getting on with a topic.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the empire on duty?" Yuri asked his friend.

"Well, yeah, but I don't know why they let me take it easy today.." the blond replied.

"You're working too hard," was Yuri's answer.

"So what are you doing with Aria? You know her or something?" Flynn asked, sounding a little cautious.

"Hm? This one here?" Yuri said, smirking as he pointed at her. "Just met her the morning before you caught her."

Aria blinked and looked at the two men, her appearance seemingly innocent and quite unaware of what was going on.

"Don't be so rude to someone you just met then," Flynn said, lowering his eyes.

"And what if I refuse? And if she's comfortable with it?" Yuri asked.

"Ask her first then."

Yuri just huffed and turned to look at her, raising a quick brow to show his irritation towards his best friend. It didn't seem like the two of them get along well; after all, their personalities were clashing. Nonetheless, they both respected and trusted each other quite a lot.

"D-don't worry about me...!" Aria exclaimed, waving her arms out in front of her.

"See?" Yuri said, turning back to Flynn triumphantly.

'Is he always like that?' the young woman mouthed cautiously to Flynn. 'He's... odd..'

The knight caught he message and stifled his laughter, failing terribly at holding it in. Yuri rose a brow and looked back at Aria who was trying hard not to laugh at and with Flynn.

"Just what's so funny?" he asked.


	4. Chapter 4

The three continued to hold a conversation with Repede trotting next to Yuri as usual, his golden pipe bobbing up and down in his mouth. Flynn was on one side of Aria, keeping a close eye on her, while Yuri was on the other side. She felt a little different and uncomfortable since the only people she talked to through out life was her foster family. Not even her blood family communicated with her, not like she knew any of them or even knew that her family now was just a fill-in.

"Say, Flynn?" she suddenly called, earning all the attention. "You said my last name sounded familiar right..? Within the upper quarters?"

Flynn blinked and then nodded, waiting for the girl to keep talking.

"Who was it that had this surname? I must know."

Yuri and Flynn exchanged quick glances with each other, a sign that they both knew who exactly she was asking for. The thing that got her most curious was how Yuri seemed to know what she was going on and about with the knight next to her.

"... Alistaire and Gabrielle Winslet.." Flynn said slowly.

'Never heard of them before..' she muttered.

"Those two nobles have already passed," Yuri added nonchalantly.

"Have they..?" Aria asked, seemingly to have no reaction. "That's a shame. I should ask Mrs. Florence for more details. She seems to know a lot about me and my name.."

Flynn and Yuri remained silent and exchanged another look with each other. Flynn then smiled at Aria and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?" Aria asked.

"You are a very... honest person, you know that?" Flynn said.

"He meant to say sympathetically blunt," Yuri corrected.

"Shut up."

"Blunt in a rude way, sympathetic way, or whatever, I remain truthful to my words," the girl stated. "Unless you're crazy enough to want to listen to me blurt out lies or sound like I don't care."

Flynn smiled at her apologetically as Yuri looked away and smirked.

"Oooh, harsh... But the question is: Do you actually know how to lie?" Yuri asked jokingly.

"Yes, I do," she said casually, shutting up the two men. "I'm no longer innocent, so I can sin as much as I want to. And plus, I need to lie to deceive and get what I want you know."

The girl's reason to sin more than she already has made Yuri seemed completely fine with the idea since he was a sinner himself, but for Flynn it was the total opposite.

"No, I would rather have you clean up your act. You don't want to end up like this douche bag right here," the knight said, giving a light smack against Yuri's chest.

"Hey, I don't actually lie, you know? I have specific reason to do so when I need to anyways!" he suddenly said, pushing Flynn's arm away.

"That technically means you do lie..." Aria said awkwardly.

"Yeah, whatever damn it," he suddenly huffed.

'Give it up, kid! We know you are a part of that group of thieves working with the Cloaked Figure!' a knight accused. The group overheard as they got closer.

'I swear! I don't know who that person is!' a boy exclaimed frighteningly.

The group looked over to witness the commotion near them, finding two knights tugging at a child's collar forcefully. The boy was obviously scared and silently crying his eyes out as he struggled and kicked violently against their tight grip.

"We've seen you make contact with the person once before, so don't deny it!"

Aria stepped away from the men and Repede, feeling a bit at fault and angered by the false accusation. Flynn and Yuri tried pulling her back, but it was already a second too late.

'Hey, get back here!' Yuri hissed.

"What if he isn't lying?" the girl asked, earning their attention. "You did say 'once before,' but once means nothing."

"And who are you? Mind your own business, you brat, or we'll drag your ass to jail as well!" one of the knights stated.

"How rude," she replied nonchalantly, raising a brow. "Not like you have the right or power to do so."

"You worthless little bitch..!"

"Sir, please watch your language. A child is present here," Aria said with a smile, unfazed by the knight.

The man dropped the kid to the floor and earned a grunt when he landed on his bottom hard, making Aria frown. The girl knew what was coming next, getting ready to grab her sword; he was to draw his sword an strike her as fast as possible. Before Aria was able to draw her own weapon, Flynn was suddenly in between the two, blocking the strike with his sword and stopping the imperial knight from hitting the girl.

"L-Lieutenant Flynn!" the man stuttered.

"What do you think you were doing attacking a civilian for no reason?" he asked sternly.

"B-but Lieutenant-"

"No 'buts.' I see no wrong actions on her part for I have witnessed the entire scene. That child will be questioned by me, and don't dare causing trouble like that again. Clear?"

The knight looked like he was about to protest and until Flynn asked in a louder tone.

"Clear?"

"Yes sir..." he answered quickly.

The imperial knights immediately saluted to Flynn and scattered away from the young boy they were trying to pursue. Aria ran over to the crying boy and helped him up to his feet, dusting off his clothes and looking at the scratches and cuts he had on his body from struggling so much.

"It's alright now, don't you worry," Aria soothed, patting the child's head.

The teen then began to heal the wounds he had on his tiny frail body and sighed once she finished. The child just looked up and sniffle, quietly thanking the girl for helping him.

"Just avoid getting into trouble, but did you really meet the Cloaked Figure before?" she decided to ask.

"No, I didn't, Miss," he sniffed. "The person passes by me when they're running away from those people, but we've never talked before, not at all."

"As I expected of those knights," she said, sounding as if she was about to go kill someone. "Finding an excuse to do their so called job. Yeah, right.. Look, Flynn. No interrogations needed here, alright? Those idiots are just here to cause trouble."

The boy finally stopped crying and grabbed at Aria's hand, shaking in fear as he looked at the familiar face of Flynn and Yuri.

"Flynn, I really didn't do it!" the boy said.

"I don't suspect you to have done something against the rules, Kent, but orders from the upper class are orders I'll have to obey. Any proof?" the knight asked.

Aria frowned and pointed to herself.

"Am I enough?" she growled.

Flynn rose an eyebrow at this and shook his head 'no'.

"You could be lying. You even said yourself that you lie when you need to."

"And I can prove to you that I am not. We'll ask around and have you know that everything those knights accused are all falsely made."

A smirk seemingly played on Yuri's lips at this point as he leaned in closer to the girl and trapped her by the wall behind her. Kent followed her, still holding onto her tightly as the man drove her back into the wall. Aria's face heated up at how close the taller and older man's face was, no point for her to hide it. She frowned at the thought of him being a good looking man even if he seemed to be a prick and, of course, at Yuri himself.

"I'd like to see you try," he said, "But what if all their accusations were right? What would you have Flynn do to you, Aria?"

The girl began to grow nervous, her breath seemed to be uneven, her heart beating quickly in her chest, and her chest rising visibly from trying to get the air through her body.

"H-he can kill me for all I care or even lock me up. But seriously, I know they were accusing the boy without a single piece of evidence themselves," she said sternly.

"So you're willing to give up your life on something as petty as this?" Yuri asked, his smirk completely wiped of his face like the ocean washing away lost items on a beach. "How pathetic. It's best to just have him order you around or something like that than carelessly throw away your life. Just why else are you living for?"

The girl went quiet as the man pushed himself away from her and walked back to Flynn's side as if he was the knight's personal assistant and body guard. They may clash at times, but they made the perfect duo.

"He's right you know. Don't say that you'll throw away your life as easily as that. It's not even worth it to kill a person for a mere lie as that," Flynn told the girl with a frown.

"Then do whatever. Go ask around. I'm certain that the person passed by more than one child while they went on the run," she said before walking off with Kent.

"She's too alerted for her own good.." the knight commented.

"At least she isn't as naive as Estelle," Yuri countered, earning a small glare from his friend. "What? It's true."


	5. Chapter 5

After the group went around to ask about the incident, it turns out the Aria was speaking and staying true to her words like she stated before. Flynn ended up apologizing for doubting her words and immediately was forgiven. Yuri laughed at this, but ended up having to apologize with Flynn anyways after being knocked in the head by the blonde.

"I already said that it's fine. Now stop bowing, it's awkward!" Aria said.

Flynn stood up straight with a remorseful looking expression, Yuri following along though he looked more pissed than sorry.

"I guess we have a long way to go with building our bond and trust," Flynn commented.

"That I will have to agree with," the girl chuckled.

A female knight suddenly approached her and pointed her sword towards Aria's direction, earning her full attention and awareness. Aria, being the protective person she was, blocked Kent from the knight and stood in front.

"Step aside from the Lieutenant, Cloaked Figure!" Sodia exclaimed.

"Right... about that, that can never happen. He swore to follow me once I set foot out of shelter," Aria stated nonchalantly. "And what if I said that you've got the wrong person?"

"I saw you take off the cloak they wore, you thief! Now surrender yourself!"

Aria remained still as she motioned Kent to get out of harms way, not bothering to obey the knight.

"Sodia, stand down, she's not going to do any else as tedious and sinful as stealing anymore. Well, not on my watch," Flynn said.

"Lieutenant Flynn! She's a criminal we should pursue! How can we just stand down on this after having her action pull through for 10 years?"

Sodia was hesitant with his decision this time, not bothering to move from her position. Aria stood still though her left hand was grabbing at her sheathed blade.

"Wow, I see your records are up-to-date. I see why you'd want to pursue me, but is it alright to not listen to your lieutenant?" she asked calmly.

Her calm demeanor ticked Sodia off for some reason, causing her to swing her blade at Aria in anger and irritation. Aria, however, swiftly grabbed her covered sword and blocked the attack from hitting her.

"Sodia, please stand back," Flynn asked for the final time.

The female finally gave up and glowered at Aria, her lime green eyes burning into the relaxed eyes of the girl standing before her.

"You're lucky to know the lieutenant personally," she hissed, earning a shrug from the labeled thief.

"Excuse me for her behavior, but this is Sodia, second in command of my squad."

"Great, nice meeting you. Such a good first impression," Aria commented irritably. "Now, can I just leave?"

"I'll have Yuri watch you if you do take off."

"And why am I doing your dirty work?" Yuri asked stubbornly.

"Please?"

"Fine. You owe me dinner."

"It's a deal then," Flynn confirmed.

Aria groaned and held her head with the hand not bearing the sword, trying to calm down from all the events she had to deal with the entire week. She then began to stalk off anyways, inhaling deeply and exhaling right after.

"Do whatever. I just want to finish my task and leave the area," she stated.

Flynn and Yuri exchanged a quick look at each other before Yuri followed closely behind her to watch her in Flynn's stead.

"Repede," the man called, earning the dog's full attention.

* * *

"So you're actually going to follow me after all, huh?" Aria asked after a few minutes later of her departure.

The girl looked over her shoulder to see the man's face with a small crease forming from her frown and then back in front of her, trying to calm down her flustered face.

"Looks that way," Yuri replied with a shrug. "So what are you going to do now since Flynn is going to stick with you when he has the chance to?"

Aria turned to look at Yuri completely this time, no longer having a frown on her face, but her usual innocent display she always had at home.

"Stay home. I was able to sit at home for about five days, but I need to finish an errand. I want no contact with other humans," she simply answered. "This is the most I've ever talked to another person face to face and it feels very uncomfortable."

Yuri hummed with not much interest and nodded at the girl though his reaction wasn't taken in with much thought by Aria. He began looking her up and down, resting his chin in his fingers thoughtfully, and acted as if he was observing his most recent sculpture he successfully created for any flaws.

"You should know that I hate communicating with strangers," she concluded, walking off farther.

That only seemed to perk Yuri's interest even further. It was supposedly a chance for him to see why his closest friend was so determined to keep this one girl out of trouble and harm's way.

"Then I'll change that before Flynn gets a chance to," the man suggested, finally breaking the silence after a minute later.

"What's that supposed to mean..?" the girl asked curiously, not sounding very interested.

"Nothing much," he said quickly. "Just need to get you to socialize more so you can deal with Flynn. He is going to stick you you like a dog, am I right?"

Repede barked and wagged his tail a little, looking up at Yuri and showing respect and love for being his caretaker.

"He's probably going to be like a second Repede by the looks of things," he chuckled, bending down to pat his partner.

Aria stopped by a shop and got a pure white teddy bear plush with a teal ribbon around it's neck for Leia and and a dark brown bear wearing a black top hat and black ribbon around it's own neck for Leon. Apparently, both twins have the same preferences interestingly enough, so the teen didn't need much thought on what to get for each of them. She was also able to get the white thread her foster mom asked for. Yuri waited for her to finish whatever she was there for and looked at the stuffed animals with a smirk and raised brow.

"I see that you're into these stuff..." he commented, making her blush.

"It's not for me anyways.. And what if I am into cute items...?" she asked, heading back home. 'Took too many detours just for this...'

"That only reminds me of someone. Nothing else really," Yuri mentioned, following her back.

"Right, that's great. Now are you going to finally stop following me?"

"Yeah, I would, but I feel like I'm the one being watched here instead..." the man said, looking over to the obviously watchful knight.

It turns out that he managed to send off Sodia to continue her patrol around town while he secretively followed Yuri and Aria as she did her deed. That only seemed to tick off the girl, wondering how she got herself into such big trouble.

"Look, guys. I'm not here to be babysat and also I'm not here to steal useless crap from anyone. Now leave me alone!" she hollered angrily, dashing off to get home as quickly as possible.

The two men watched her disappear with Repede slowly following her and coming to a halt. Flynn came out of hiding and walked up to Yuri to stand side by side, neck to neck, with his friend.

"Look at what you've done," Yuri pointed out blankly.

"Hey, I didn't want her to suddenly break her promise or have you break your own promise," Flynn said. "We just met, I can't possibly immediately trust her, you know?"

"Either way we're making her uncomfortable. Jeez, she's a hard on to approach lady unlike a certain someone we know.."

Flynn frowned, creating a small crease between his brows on his forehead.

"Don't talk bad about Lady Estellise, you got that?" he stated.

"I'm not talking bad about Estelle at all, but I can say she's like Rita Mordio and Estelle in multiple ways."

"Well, that, I can see."

Silence filled between the two men and Aria was no where to be seen in their sight any longer. Repede trotted back to his owners and sat down in front of the two, waiting for any orders to come his way. Flynn and Yuri just sighed and decided to continue the day regularly after Yuri asked Repede sniff out her trail to her house.

"Repede, track her," he said.

The blue and white dog barked and took off to do his newly given task. Flynn only watched the canine curiously and remained quiet until their dog was finally gone as well. Yuri then turned around and left the spot to continue with his day. Of course the knight had no other reason left to stand there, so he decided to follow Yuri and as of his promise, he planned to finish it all.

"You didn't trust me, did you?" Yuri asked, sounding a little bothered.

"That's not it. I was just worried about you both. After all, I stuck two criminals together to keep them both looking out for one another," Flynn defended. "Who knows what would've happened if the other knights found out."

"Just why are you chasing after her so much? Are you looking for a girl? Don't you already have Estelle?" Yuri continued to question.

"No, I'm not, and quit bring Lady Estellise into these pointless conversations!" he exclaimed. "She... She might be the missing daughter of the Winslets their butler, Basil, kept mentioning to us."

"Is that so?"

"The girl even said herself that the knights come on a daily basis to get her and her mother for unknown reasons. We'll investigate tomorrow and arrive before the incident happens again," Flynn ordered.

"Oh, so now I'm involved?" Yuri asked in a blunt yet bland manner.


	6. Chapter 6

"Leia, Leon, are you around?" Aria called, holding the gifts she bought earlier close to herself. "Sorry I left suddenly while you were both resting, but-"

The girl cut herself off as she heard muffled screaming and wailing, causing her to become alerted and run over to the source of the noises. She then looked at the sight before her, her surroundings, and engraving it all into her mind. Horror, shock, fury, everything growing and mixing into the pit of her stomach as she looked at turned chairs and tables, dropped items like yarns, strings, and flowers, broken glass, and ripped cloth. She then snapped over to look at Mrs. Florence laying on the floor with the young boy, Leon, next to her crying and begging to whoever it was that broke into the house. How ironic. It was a squad of imperial knights. Cumore's squad to be exact.

'This can't be happening..' she thought, speeding over even closer to the scene.

What she saw when she got to the room was the man, Cumore himself, grabbing a fistful of Leia's hair long snowy white hair, holding her up to where she wasn't able to touch the floor anymore, and a group of knight surrounding the room. His blade was up and near the young girl's face to threaten her and her brother. Leia was crying and shrieking in pain mixed with terror, holding her hands up to her head to try and get the man to let go. Leon was shaking his mother to wake her up as he turned over to his twin and reached out for her, completely petrified. Mrs. Florence was already dead; her mouth was gaped, her eyes wide open, her body still and covered in blood from the liquid pooling around her body.

"Leave my sister alone!" the boy sobbed, knowing he couldn't do anything. "Leave her alone...!"

It looks as if he was about to give up on hope and just try to get himself killed if his sister was killed with his mother. His body was all soaked and covered in his mother's blood along with his sister. No one had notice Aria near the room just yet, so the girl ran over as she threw the no longer needed gifts to the side and struck Cumore on his wrist, making him let go of Leia. Aria quickly caught the girl and ran to Leon and his mother's side, holding them both close as they continued to cry.

"Well, well, the person we were after finally came to us!" the commander of the Cumore Squad said.

Aria growled and glared deadly sharp glances at each and every knight in the room, intimidating them all as much as possible.

"Aria..!" Leia cried.

"What. Just what the hell is this," she began lowly and angrily.

Cumore only smirked in response and then flicked his light blue hair back off his left shoulder before giving out a straight answer.

"A work of art. Offenders deserve punishment right on the spot and luckily for her, this house is her grave. Don't you agree?"

Aria's clothes and hair were now stained with blood, the scent of the metallic liquid substance becoming overwhelming in the room. Leia began to bury her face into Aria's body as Leon hugged the two tightly, not wanting to let go. Aria was able to pry them off softly, telling them to stay put before she stood up to face the man she despised head on.

"Mom...!" Leon called, shaking Mrs. Florence again. "Mom, wake up!"

"You've already killed an innocent civilian. I won't let you kill another," she hissed. "Leave them out of this! They're only kids!"

"Ugh, how awfully boring of you.. These rats all deserve to be killed. You, however, deserve the divine punishment I always wanted to try," Cumore groaned disgustedly. "I'm seeking you to become my personal test subject. Feel honored."

"If someone is to be a rat or a test subject, then that'd be you! Now leave this instant!"

"Not a chance~"

Aria could no longer keep her patience up, swiftly kicking Cumore's possibly make-up covered face and smearing as well as flicking blood onto him in the process. That angered the man, causing him to swing out his blood cover blade at Aria. The girl quickly blocked the attack with her sheathed blade and draw out her own weapon to block his second blow. Slowly being pushed back, Aria tried to fight back as best as she could to protect her only family members left. She then swiftly knocked Cumore off balanced by sweeping him off his feet and made him fall forward, allowing her to step on his blade once she got him down to the ground. She then stabbed the floor next to the man's head, scaring him to death, and traced out his upper body as she kept stabbing the ground. His face was finally beginning to swell and grow red and purple from the kick.

"..uck you... Fuck you.. Fuck you, fuck you, FUCK YOU!" the girl cursed, her voice raising each time and her thrusting speed with her sword increasing as she said the phrase.

"Criminals deserve punishment for disobeying the laws and imperial knights," Cumore grunted shakily as a few knights went after the teen.

Repede suddenly jumped in and knocked them out of the way, keeping the small family away from danger as best as possible. Aria was confused to why the dog was there and was about to be attacked by another knight, but before his blade landed, the girl knocked him away and gave him a small cut. She's never killed a person before and she plans not to. The man was certainly frightened and then coward away from Aria in hopes of not getting killed. Cumore was stubborn about fulfilling his goal, but decided that it was best for him to stay low and retreat.

"We'll be back before you know it!" he hissed.

Aria dropped her sword next to her feet and gritted her teeth to bite back the sobs and tears that threatened to escape. Her face was all red from the constant yelling and the hatred that she felt spreading throughout her body. Failing to hide her sadness, the girl turned around and ran over to the kids, falling to her knees and hugging them tighter than ever to keep them comforted and safe. Repede watched the little group huddle together and then decided to brush himself over them to help sooth them, blood coating his fur as he pattered over and did so.

"Mom is gone..." Leia cried. "She's never coming back..!"

"D-don't say that, Leia!" Leon sobbed. "We'll just feel worse if- if we keep telling o-ourselves that."

Just hearing the kids cry stung the girl's chest, her own tears finally beginning slipping out of her teal eyes.

'I'll take care of you kids. I'll make sure to get whatever you need and raise you how she wanted to raise you. I promise, I won't disappoint you all, not at all...' Aria whispered, mourning for the woman's death.

Repede decided to stay with the family for a little longer and sat in the pool of blood next to the now frigid corpse, everyone embracing each other. After sitting in the drying up blood for a few minutes later, Aria stood up and pulled the twins up along with her.

"Let's get you two cleaned up... I'll try to clear up this mess and fix up some dinner for you both..."

The kids didn't answer. Their grieving faces were just so hard to look at and their lifeless eye- Oh, their lifeless eyes just made it look like as if they just died themselves from being burdened with sorrow. Aria released her breath knowing they were no longer able to move around on their own and brought them up to the bathroom anyways, readying the water for their bath. The girl then stripped the two kids and set them each into the wide tub now filled with warm water, soaping them up and washing their hair and body for them. After all that, she was able to dry off the kids and dress them up in fresher clothes, throwing their stained clothes away in her room to keep it away from them and taking them both into their room.

"Don't worry, okay? We'll be fine and your mother wouldn't want you to make a mistake in life by killing yourself.."Aria told the kids, patting and smoothing out their hair.

They finally responded with a simultaneous small nod. Aria left the twins' room to find Repede still waiting downstairs even though she left the door open for him to leave anytime. She blinked and smiled sadly yet gratefully at the dog, bending down to call him over. Repede complied and slowly walked over to the girl, allowing her to hug him tightly and show her gratitude to him.

"Thank you, Repede, for being there. Did someone send you to follow me?" the girl asked earning a low bark and nudge. Let's get you washed up first. I still need to run out and look for help with a proper burial for her."

The dog didn't want to bathe just yet and barked again looking at the door. Aria blinked and pat his back once she got what he meant.

"You want to come and help too, huh? Alright, we better get a move on then. Everything is a wreck here..." Aria said, standing up and running out the door.

The white thread and both brown and white bears were now fully soaked in the deep crimson red liquid by now, no longer in use. After the sudden turn of events, they were now forgotten by everyone in the world.


	7. Chapter 7

"I wonder what's taking Repede so long.." Yuri suddenly said. "He's never taken this long before whenever I asked him to run an errand."

Flynn was frowning to himself, tapping his chin worriedly since Yuri was right about Repede never being late; especially when HE knew where the girl lived, he could just run over for a check. Aria suddenly passed by, still covered in blood from her hair, skin, and to her clothes, a blood covered Repede running next to her barking frantically and catching attention.

"What the-" the two said in unison.

Aria ran over to the elder everyone knew in the lower quarters nervously, wondering whether the kids were going to stay in their room or go back to the living room only to grieve some more.

"Hanks!" the girl called.

"Hm? W-what happened? Why are you covered in blood? And is that Repede with you?" the man asked, clearly panicking.

The girl halted in front of him, being grabbed by the worried old man as she took a breather. Everyone nearby gave her a look of disgust and fright due to the cursed crimson stains.

"Sir, the imperial knights broke into my family's house... Everything is in ruins... and..." The girl felt hesitant to say it out loud for once, collecting all her sanity and stuffing it into her brain so she didn't go crazy or break down again. "And.."

"What is it, dear? Tell me.. This sounds all too serious.." Hanks said, trying to get her to continue.

"Mrs. Florence is dead. She was killed in front of the twins by Cumore. He already killed her and then yet also tried killing Leia next when I got back home," the girl said, Flynn and Yuri overhearing them. "Please, Hanks, help me move out the body and clean up the house before the kids leave their room and see that gruesome sight again."

"We'll help too!" Flynn offered quickly.

Aria jumped and shivered in fear as she looked over to see the imperial knight. Her face was beginning to build sweat and her eyes were welling up with frightened tears again, though the girl didn't seem to know that the tears were about to slip down her cheeks. Her reaction only made Flynn worry about her mentality state, the man reach out towards her as if checking.

"S-stay back...!" she exclaimed backing away as Hanks held her arms tightly to prevent her from attacking.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, Aria. It's only Flynn! Flynn won't hurt you, child!" the old man told the girl, trying to hold her still.

"Repede.. By the looks of the blood stain on you, you weren't able to make it in time either, did you," Yuri said, scratching his partner's ear.

"Woof!" Repede barked.

"Please, calm down, I won't hurt you," Flynn told the girl as he held out his hands.

Aria began to shake her head, her hair stuck to her clothes through the dried up, clotted blood. Flynn wasn't about to give up and pulled the girl over into his body, hugging her close and trying to calm her down. Aria began to pound at his chest to get him to let go, but he was being stubborn, holding her tightly until she gave up and fell to her knees, bringing him with her.

"The nobles... The knights..! I despise them all! I hate them! Why are they even after me? Now look what happened!" she cried out loudly, finally releasing the rest of her guilt that began building up in her body right from the start. "I can't... I don't want to live anymore!"

"No, you'll live," Flynn told the girl sternly. "No one is dying on my watch. Nothing will change even if you did die."

Yuri walked over and rested his hand onto Aria's head as if he was patting a child's head, calmly stroking her hair to help calm her down.

"Hanks, please go first before those kids she mentioned comes out to seek for her," Yuri requested.

The old man nodded and quickly took off with Repede, looking for several more helping hands and equipment.

"Come on, we should go too. You don't want the kids to see it again now, do you?"

Aria looked up at Flynn and Yuri, grief clouding in her eyes clearly. She finally stopped her childish sounding wails and was about to wipe her face, but before she could, Flynn stopped her. Her sleeves were still covered in blood and he didn't want her to smear it all over her face or get it into her eyes.

"Don't wipe. Your arms are dirtied," Flynn told the girl, grabbing his cape to use.

"S-sorry..." the girl sniffed silently. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Flynn...!"

Yuri sighed and pulled the girl out of Flynn's arms carefully, getting her back onto her feet and looking over at Flynn. The two were giving each other messages through their eyes with Aria continued to sniff and stop herself from letting her tears come out any longer.

"Go follow Hanks. He'll need you there," Yuri finally stated. "We'll be right behind you."

Flynn didn't answer his friend and then just walked away from the two silently, becoming the serious knight he always was during work. Yuri then looked at the girl again and then softly pet the side of the girl's head, not really knowing what else to do especially with a sobbing nineteen year old.

"Crying doesn't suit you as much as glaring, now cheer up. Everything will be taken care of," Yuri stated. "Unless you're that type of person who's a crybaby and can't stop, I'll make sure to send you to Flynn for babysitting hours."

Aria suddenly began to giggle, Yuri smiling at the lighthearted noises she was making. Her soft hair was still stuck to her fair skin and tangled up from the dried up blood clots. Lifting up her head up to see his face, Aria's face was tinted pink from all the crying she had done and from total embarrassment.

"Let's go now, we don't want to keep everyone else waiting," the man said again, quickly wiping her cheeks with his sleeve and grabbing her shoulders from behind, pushing her forward lightly. "Lead the way, kiddy. And don't cry anymore. Those kids will worry."

"It's not too far from here," Aria said, beginning to jog. "I'm worried about the two kids under my care.. What if someone takes them away from me or something happens to them?"

"Flynn and I will prevent that from happening."

"... Thank you.. Yuri."

* * *

"Alright now, boys, lift her up carefully and slowly!" Hanks instructed.

Yuri and Aria entered the building, seeing everyone wearing dark colored rags to avoid getting blood stained onto their bodies. Mrs. Florence's corpse was covered by a giant white cloth that slowly bled the same blood the woman was releasing from her giant stab wound on her chest. Flynn noticed the two coming in and motioned Yuri to come help, the long haired man nodding as well as heading over.

"Go take a quick shower and look after the children. We'll be up with you when we're done," Flynn said, giving off a beaming smile to the girl.

Aria nodded and bowed to the males in the room then motioned Repede to come with her to get his fur washed. The dog didn't want to at first, but did so anyways knowing she just wanted to show as much gratitude she could to him. Once the girl was finally able to shower and bathe the dog, she felt a little calmer and lighter from being able to finally release a whole portion of her stress from her body. The dog swished his tail back and forth comfortably, splashing water and flinging soap around the area.

"I'm sorry for causing you and your owners so much trouble today," Aria told the dog, earning a nudge. "It must have been really annoying and stressful for you all."

The girl then began to dry off the dog and herself, heading to her room to change. Repede followed closely behind her, heading over to the bloody clothes spread out on the floor.

"I'll take care of that right now.." Aria said after she changed.

The girl grabbed her brooch and held it tightly in her left hand, holding her right hand over the poisoned clothes she wanted to throw out so much. She had second thoughts though and decided to keep them since they were specially made by Mrs. Florence for the kids. Her clothes, however... She was told someone gave it to her the day she was born, waiting for her to grow old enough to wear it. Her hand and the blastia formed brooch began to glow and reverted the blood stains, forcing it off the clothes and splattering it back onto the floor after a few seconds later.

"I guess I'll throw these into the the dirty clothes basket now..." she muttered, cleaning up the liquefied blood on the floor.

Repede dragged the shoes off to the side then grabbed the family's clothes graciously and pattered over to the girl who was now at the trash can on the other side of her room. Aria gave him an ear scratch and pointed over to the basket next to the door, grabbing the pouch Flynn recently returned to her and slipping in her blastia before she grabbed the clean looking shoes. Luckily, the bag was never contaminated by blood. The girl dragged the basket out and off to the side of her room, took a quick peek in the living room as she put the shoes away to see everyone clean up the mess, and then headed over to where the kids were located, opening the door to see them both still staring at the wall in front of them. Repede curiously stuck his head in to see how the children were.

"Hey, guys... Are you hungry? Anything bothering you?"

Leia looked over at Aria slowly and just stared silently, not really knowing what to say. Leon didn't even budge.

"Look, it'll be fine, okay? I'll bring up some food and let you both rest."

Leon shook his head and then stood up from the bed, causing his twin to jolt a bit and do the same confusedly.

"W-we'll be fine...! I'll help you with chores and housework from now on!" Leon exclaimed, no longer wanting to burden the older girl. "We can't let you do everything.."

"I'll help too!" Leia said, following her brother's footsteps.

Aria smiled at the two and turned to head out the door, the two kids running over to her and grabbing a hold of each of her hands. The teen reciprocated their action and decided to head over to where the dirty basket of clothes was located.

"Let's go wash our clothes first..."

Aria glance at Repede silently and sent him off to alert the men downstairs about the kids beginning to travel around the house again. The dog took off while the kids ran over and picked up the basket for the teen. Opening the door to the laundry room nearby, Aria sighed to herself, not making a single noise so that the kids didn't grow worried or suspicious. Their stomachs suddenly gave off a small growl when they set the basket down on the floor to start washing them, Aria filling up the giant water basins.

"Oh man, we better finish this quickly and feed you then.." Aria commented as she began to clean off a few clothes one at a time in a clean water basin. "I'll head down to cook while you stay in here and finish the rest okay? There's only a few left."

The girl pulled out the clothes and checked whether she cleaned it well enough, approving her handy work and taking it over to the clothes line outside.

"Okay!" the two chimed, raising their hands as if they were in school.

Aria smiled and dried off her hands, turning around to reenter the laundry room and walking out the other entry as well as exit way. Yuri was about to knock when the girl opened up the door; his firm knuckles were about a centimeter away from hitting her head. Blinking with wide shocked eyes, the girl grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the room before the twins could see. He was changed back into his usual black clothing; he possibly threw away the rags after getting his job done.

"Now isn't the time for you to see them," the girl said, earning a blank look from the older man. "I haven't told them about anyone visiting or staying over for a bit..."

"Right, well, we've finished cleaning up, but we can't fix the furnishes or stuff like that," he announced.

"That'll be... alright..."

Aria then walked off to head to the kitchen with Yuri and Repede following her obediently. Yuri then lifted his head a little higher to see the girl's reaction, but didn't see anything abnormal about her.

"Say... Flynn and I.. We need to talk to you."

Aria stopped and turned around curiously with a stare that asked, 'What for?' She can't really think of any reasons for the men to have a little conference with her about besides the most recent death she was involved with.

"I-is it serious?" she asked nervously.

Yuri noticed the difference in her tone and smirked at a small thought, deciding to mess around with her for a bit before telling her what it really was about.

"Oh yes, very serious... Young lady, you have violated the laws so many times for so long, we have decided to give you the divine punishment!" he announced in a more highly noble tone. "Ten years of thieving, insults, and attacking! You are to face jail and the royal family's decisions to repent for what you have done!"

Aria backed away a little unaware of the lie being a joke. Yuri was looking down on her, his hands on his hips and his face struggling to hold in a smirk; that was until Flynn came up from behind and knocked him on the side of his head. He was also changed, his blue and white clothes looking clean, as always, just without his heavy looking armor.

"Quit scaring her. She's had enough of a scare as of today already..." the knight stated tiredly.

Yuri gave a teasing pout in response and stopped with the jokes, rubbing his face and head to calm down a little. Aria released a sigh of relief and relaxed her tense muscles, leaning onto the wall next to her.

"Don't do that..." she said, completely bothered by the men.

"We apologize," Flynn replied, elbowing Yuri and getting a groan.

The knight then held out the bears and white thread to the girl, smiling worriedly whether the items were going to affect her or not. Aria stared at the items and then took out her brooch and pinned it onto her shirt.

"And what's this for?" she asked blandly.

"It was the things you bought earlier today... Would you want me to throw them out?"

The girl stared and then looked at Flynn, smiling calmly and innocently, something she never liked to show to strangers.

"Thanks... Are the clothing and thread the woman had with her safe also?" the girl asked softly.

Flynn nodded and looked over to the basket near the group, nodding over to it silently. Sighing in relief, she held out her hands to accept the bears and white threads then headed over to the basket, laying out all the items on the floor. Both Yuri and Flynn were watching her curiously, Repede sitting on the floor patiently and nipping at his pipe in his mouth to keep himself occupied. The girl held out her hands and took a deep breath, using the blastia's powers to revert the dried up blood back to liquid and removing it from the objects. Throwing the items back into the baskets, the girl looked around to find an unneeded towel to use and throw away.

"Would you like to stay for dinner today..?" the girl asked, picking up the basket and looking back at the amused two. "You did say you needed to talk to me."

"... Sure..." they finally said.

"Aria! Everything is now up to you to watch the kids... Speaking of which, where are they?" Hanks asked.

The girl pointed at the laundry room and handed the basket to the old man to bring in for her. Hanks smiled and gave a nod as a thank you then headed to the room she showed to him just a moment ago.

"Thank you again, Hanks."

The man waved behind himself as he slowly approached to the laundry room.

'Kids, Hanks is visiting you two today!' the old man called cheerfully.

And with that, he was granted immediate entry into the room.

"I'll be fixing up dinner now. Those children are hungry..." Aria said, walking straight into the said room to cook.


End file.
